


The Crippled Bastard

by MoniMcCoy



Category: Sherlock (TV), Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Khan is a tiger shapeshifter, guess which character he is..., jungle book au, someone called this sherekhanolly and i love it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-10-25 08:10:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17721422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoniMcCoy/pseuds/MoniMcCoy
Summary: Molly Hooper is a young and intelligent zoologist in a difficult time for women. During what she considered to be an ordinary expedition to study the wild fauna of the jungle, she comes across a unique specimen that seems very keen on making her life a living hell. But is making her miserable what he is after? or does he want something else with her?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is, the crack!fic fic nobody asked for but I wrote anyway. Khan is a shapeshifter tiger and Molly is a zoologist of the 19th century. this is probably one of my crackiest fics.

People had called Molly crazy for going all the way  to India to study the wildlife, but of course, they had also called her crazy for choosing to go to college instead of marrying at a young age. The nineteenth century sure was a hard time for a woman, no matter the class. It didn’t matter for her, because at the moment she was as far away from those old aristocratic hags as she could, and she intended for it to remain that way.

The village she had chosen to stay was small and simple, just the way she liked them. People were happy where they were with what little they had, it was a small community with no pretensions, no machinations and no judgement. Where knowledge was respected and admired and nobody said anything about her studies, it was true that it was because she was just a passerby, not a true part of the community, but still… she had never felt as free as she was now than at her own home, where she was always restricted by society rules and etiquette. Molly was happy there, she could really get used to it.

As she sat comfortably in her small but cozy cottage, she admired her drawings of many of the animals she had found in her journey; an elephant, some peafowls, a bear, a teeny tiny wolf pup with the most beautiful albino coat she had ever seen… it had been wonderful here, but it wouldn’t last much longer, London’s Natural British museum awaited her results, and with a heavy heart she would return home in less than a week. Unless… unless she discovered something that was worth the science community’s time.

She was so lost in her own musings that she didn't noticed when someone screamed outside until  more screams followed in a language that she didn’t understand. But she understood fear, and whatever was happening outside must be a living nightmare for the villagers. She didn't understand the gravity of the situation till Hiran, her interpreter, came rushing in with a face so pale Molly thought he had seen a ghost.

“What’s all that ruckus?” She asked, fearing the answer.

Hiran gulped visibly and just muttered one word in his heavy accent.

“B-beast.”

Knowing she would get much more from him, she went outside, ignoring his alarmed protests in hindi. Better know what they were dealing with so she could proceed with the right course of action. Even if it was running like the devil was chasing her.

Outside there was only chaos, it was like the end of the world was approaching; women pulled their children and elders inside, while the bravest of men armed with torches and sables stood in front of the entrance of the village pretending to feel a bravery they obviously didn't have. For a second, she wondered if the British army had come to attack the village. But what goods could these poor people have?

Not daring to approach more than a couple of steps, she squinted through the human barrier at the entrance of the village, towards the jungle. But nothing was there, nothing that could set off the alarms that way. What could they have seen that stirred so much panic into their hearts?

As she was about the return inside she heard some rustling in the leaves that were a few yards to her right, deep into the jungle. When she looked, she thought she saw something, but it quickly disappeared leaving her to wonder if it had just been her imagination playing tricks on her.

Real or not, that night she found herself unable to sleep, trashing around and squirming under the covers. When she finally got a few hours of rest in the early morning hours, her dreams where plagued by the hulking striped figure she saw among the wilderness.

* * *

 

Khan knew he shouldn’t have come as closer as he had. He hated them, absolutely despised them and wished nothing more than to drink their blood and feast on their guts. They, the monsters who had cursed him since birth, rejecting his ‘gifts’ and branding him as a demon. He got his revenge by devouring their sacred cows and filling their hearts with a sense of dread and fear as his tiger half.

He was an outcast in both worlds, humans rejected him because of his tiger other and deformed right arm, and animals had rejected him because of his deformed front paw and unethical hunts. It seemed that in both universes, the comptent for his right limb was a constant.

It was considered to be a signal of weakness, no human nor animal would ever survive and be useful with that upper limb. Khan had proved them wrong by becoming the biggest and most feared menace of the jungle. Nobody could defeat him in a fight, either as a man or as an animal, and those who were brave and fool enough to try... well, they soon found their end at his mighty jaws.

Eventhough he strictly followed his self-imposed rules, lately he had found himself to be slowly approaching the human village. Of course it was not because he wanted to do anything with them, just because the sweetest smell had been coming from its insides. He found it strange, humans were disgustingly dirty creatures and the stench was enough to disgust a pig. But now, it smelled different, like rich spices. It pleased both his human and tiger side, the latter one raged to be set free and claim the source of the scent for himself. However, he knew that coming less than ten yards close to the human village was out of the question. He REFUSED to have anything to do with anything human related. His tiger other, however, thought differntly. He demanded to go to the village, kill everyone on sight and take by force what belonged to him and God pity whoever tried to get in his way.

After a couple of days of nearly going mad with desire with the sweet scent, he decided to just take a closer look. Just a small peek, those idiots wouldn't be able to notice he was even there.

But he had been careless, and the humans had seen him before he could approach further to that glorious smell. Their screams, usually music to his ears, irritated him and forced Khan to retreat to the safety of the jungle. But not before he caught a small whiff of his newest obsession. 

He would make it his.

And with a mighty roar he set his mind on his new objective.

* * *

 

She had written a small missive to London’s science community, explaining she had discovered an interesting specimen and asking them for more time to study it. Molly wasn’t very fond of lying, her strict governess had once warned her that lying was the first step of the staircase to hell; so Molly, being the good girl she was, had vowed to never lie in her life. She wouldn’t call this a lie, she’d rather call it “to garnish reality”. She did see an interesting specimen, but she saw it for so little time she may have as well imagined it. Still, it was worth a shot to try and find it.

Once Molly Hooper set her mind onto something, she didn’t back down. No one and nothing would stop her until she found that giant creature and got all the data she wanted and needed from it (but always from a safe distance, of course. One must never forget that it was still a wild animal that could tear her apart until she was as recognisable as one of the Ripper’s victims).

Lucky for her, she would only had to wait a couple of days for her wish to become true. Well, maybe it shouldn’t be considered lucky at all...

That doomed day, she had formed a small expedition; just her, Hiran and a couple of men from the village, just enough to explore a bit of the jungle. Piece of cake. Damn her and her perfectionism.

They were walking through a small path, a safe path that no animal would ever dare to approach and it was driving her up the walls. She was a scientist, goddamnit! she was supposed to venture into the wilderness and explore! And she would explore the wilderness, or her name wasn’t Dr. Margaret Anne Hooper. As her guides and interpreter chatted amicably on their mother tongue, a devilish, and kinda childish, may I say, plan started developing in her head. She just needed a distraction.

The second her companions started to settle a camp for lunch and a well-deserved rest, Molly sneaked as quiet as her dress would allow her into the jungle, marvelling at each step she took. How could her country want to conquer and destroy something as beautiful and majestic as this place? it was so full of life compared to the dull and grey London where even the cockroaches were dying of boredom. She wished she could stay and live here forever.

As she walked through the deepest parts of the jungle, time passed, and when she finally noticed, she realized much to her dismay and embarrassment, that she didn’t know where she was and that she should have brought a map with her.She should have planned better this small escape attempt.

“Hiran? Ghet? Ajay?” She called out with a small voice, dread filling her stomach. It was getting dark, and if she didn’t find her companions soon, it would be over for her. Be it the predators, the poisonous snakes or human-made traps, anything could pose a threat to her in the dark of the night. Damn her scientific rigour, she was supposed to be smarter than that.

Some leaves rustled behind her, and her body froze. Taking slow and steady steps she approached the source of the noise, her heart pounding wildly against her ribcage and threatening to give her a heart attack.

“Hiran? Hello?” She knew it was stupid to call for him, if it had been her interpreter she would have heard him calling her name. Still, it lessened her agitation, even if it was for a couple of seconds.

Molly jumped back and screamed in fright when the biggest tiger she had ever seen jumped out from the bushes. It was easily five foot and two inches in all fours, it would probably tower over her if it stood on its hind legs. Its body was powerful, rippling with muscles and she doubted it weighed less than six hundred pounds. 

There were other two things her panic-filled mind seemed to notice about the tiger: one, its right foreleg seemed deformed, which caused it to have a light limp while walking; and two, the creature’s eyes were the most amazing things she had ever seen. It was no wonder the gems were called ‘tiger eye’. Pools of blue mixed with green and gold, they were certainly something.

It let out a low growl, startling her. Molly pressed herself as flat as she could against the nearest tree. The following seconds were critical, one wrong move and she… she’d rather not think about it.

The tiger sniffed the air, its nostrils moving quickly, just like her late Toby used to do, and narrowed its eyes. Oh God, things were not looking good…

It approached slowly, never breaking eye contact, like the big predator he was… Molly willed herself to be as quiet as a mouse.

It approached, closer, and closer, and closer, and-

***THWAP***

It fell on its face, its right foreleg had given up. It had been so focused on her, that it seems it had forgotten it had a limp.

For a second, they stood there, looking at each other; Molly didn’t know what to do, she wanted to laugh, she really did, but maybe it, well, now that she took a good look at its features, she could safely say it was a ‘he’, would get angry.

The tiger let out a low threatening growl. Yupp, not going to laugh at all.

He approached her cautiously and took a good sniff at her. His entire body froze, his ears back and muscles tense. The growl got louder, almost turning into a roar, Molly felt like dying. He was going to eat her right then and there, if only there was some-

“Miss Hooper!”

Oh thank any God that was listening, Hiran had noticed her missing, and soon he would come to save her. The tiger, alarmed at the sudden shout, stepped backwards and turned to run into the wilderness. However, with one malevolent gleam in his eyes, just as he was about to start running he kicked dirt with his hind legs at her, getting her cream dress dirty. As she shouted at Hiran to come and get her, she could only think of one word.

_ Asshole _

* * *

 

Little did she know that would be the last time she saw that magnificent beast. The Crippled Bastard, as she liked to call him in secret, spent the following two days, not exactly making her life a living hell, but more like making everything difficult for her.

First, he chased away a flock of parrots she was trying to draw. Well, not all of them, he ate one and then left what was left of the poor bird at her doorstep. Then, he decided it would be a great idea, to dig a hole just at the front of her house, so she could fall. What pissed her off the most was that tigers weren’t even into digging, the bastard was doing it to annoy her.

In the afternoon, she noticed the huge claw marks that were on the wooden outside of her cabin, no need to guess who was responsible, she saw him, half “hidden” in a bush, looking very pleased with himself.

And to top it all, he was marking his territory all over the place. How the villagers never noticed him, she would never know. He was basically this freakishly big tiger that could easily be spotted, after all the ruckus that he had caused a couple of days ago, weren’t they supposed to be on high alert?

As much as he annoyed her, what little confrontation they had came to an abrupt end one stormy night. It was way past midnight, she had been awake on her bed, listening the thundering storm outside and daydreaming of throwing a caqui to the tiger’s stupid face when a sudden bang at her door snapped her out of it. Molly wondered who could be at this late hour, with this weather. She lighted a candle and proceeded to  unlock the front door. She almost screamed when she saw who it was.

The Crippled Bastard made his way in, dripping wet, making a small effort to fit his great body through the small door frame. His steps were sluggish and heavy, and he seemed to be out of breath. It was not until he passed by her side, “accidentally” rubbing himself against her nightgown, that she noticed that he was dripping something that was not water, but a substance far more thicker and reddish.

As she put a hand over her mouth in shock, the tiger collapsed and passed out in the middle of the room. His blood soaked the nice handmade carpet of her cabin and dyed it red. Of course he had to be a bastard until his dying breath.

Not wanting to deal with the consequences of having a giant animal corpse in the middle of her home, she walked as slowly as she could and checked if he was still breathing. When she confirmed that he was in fact very much alive but gravely injured with what seemed to be knife wounds, she put her mind to work. She had received a brief veterinary training at college, and even though she didn’t have the studies to be able to perform a full surgery on an animal, Molly supposed her knowledge might come in handy.

She filled a bowl with fresh water and grabbed as many towels as her hands could carry. She was not going to let this beautiful animal to die, even if he was a jerk.

What she saw when she returned to his side made her have to go for a second bowl of water, since the first one had crashed into the ground.

There was no tiger there anymore. There was a man in his place. A caucasian man with a sculpted body, whose deformed right arm did not even make it less beautiful. High cheekbones framed his regal face, full cupid bow lips adorned his mouth, while his short ebony hair fell onto his forehead. He was the most beautiful being she had ever seen. It was too good to be real.

“Oh Gosh, I must have inhaled opium… this cannot be happening.” She was panicking, her breathing came in short ragged breaths, and everything was starting to become blurry. This couldn’t be real, tigers didn’t vanish and were replaced by men, she must have hallucinated the whole thing.

It was the pained groans of the man what brought her back to reality. Hallucination or not, there was a very handsome man wounded on her cabin, and she could not leave him there. So, she put her hands to good use.

An hour and half later, she seemed to have cleaned most of the blood, at least that of the wooden floor, the carpet would have to go; and bandaged his wounds. They weren’t very deep to begin with, so he would not need sutures, still, there was too many to count, had he took longer to reach her, he would have died from blood loss. 

Molly wasn’t feeling any better either. She was physically and emotionally exhausted and possibly on the verge of having a mental breakdown, but she thought had done a pretty decent job. If only she could wake the man up and demand some kind of explanation...

And just like he had read her thoughts, the man decided to open his eyes, which, she noted, were identical to the tiger’s. Still, it was when he smirked at her with the same malevolent gleam on them, that her fragile psyche gave up and fainted.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crippled Bastard part two! Now from the Bastard's point of view.

Fate, it seemed, was some twisted little shit.

The first time he had smelled her, Khan had been inevitably attracted towards the source of the scent. It called both the man and the animal in him. When he was chased away after a small confrontation with the villagers, he knew catching a small whiff would never be enough. He wanted to be buried in that scent, to breathe that scent since the rising of dawn to dusk. He would never be complete as long as he was kept apart from it.

A couple of moons later, he was able to perceive the sweet tantalizing smell again during one of his patrols. He felt overjoyed, He would finally be able to make it his as he should have done when he had tried to sneak into the man village. He followed the trail, his steps silent but fast, his powerful body moving with the stealth only the mightiest of species were allowed to have.

He cautiously moved through the bushes, only rustling them with his tail to give a light alert to his prey of his presence. Desirable object or not, he was still a tiger, the fiercest of hunters, and toying with his prey was an important art of the ancient and noble ritual of the hunt.

He raised his guard up when  heard a female voice call for someone, a man? a child? It didn’t matter, if the female was in his way, then he would not have any qualms to slit her open. With a low growl, he pounced, showing his might and girth to that mere slip of a female man who shrank back in fear.

He reveled on the spicy scent of her fear, fear was always so stimulating. It gave him the focus he needed when he went for the kill. Many would use mushrooms, others would use herbs, he just needed to breathe on their fear. The fears all his prey felt when they knew they wouldn’t be getting of this one, that he had only pretended to be affable and polite to gave them a small snippet of hope that they may be getting out of it. When all hope and light abandoned their eyes and the hairs on the back of their heads stood up. That was the moment their fear became almost tasteable; and that was the moment he let the animal take full control.

He walked slowly towards her, it was a game of power, he was asserting his dominance over her. He had full control of the situation now, and no matter how fast she run or hide, he would be able to catch her. No one would hear her screams as he dragged her to the nearest cave and feasted; and as a warning sign to any passerby humans that were foolish enough to enter his jungle without permission, he would leave her rotten corpse at the very entrance of their civilization.

_ Just focus on her eyes… let her know there won’t be any hope of escaping him… _

***THWAP***

To say that he was embarrassed was an understatement, Khan had never felt more humiliated. With the exception of, maybe, when that sneaky man cub tied a burning branch to his tail. But this was even more unforgivable. He had shown weakness in front of his prey, he had shown her that if she ran she may have a slight chance of successfully outran him. He let out a low threatening growl, just to show her he was still the dominant one. That did the trick, she seemed even more terrified than before. Now that the female man had seen him at his worst, there was no chance in hell he was going to let her live.

As he continued his death march towards her he took a good sniff at her just to breathe in more of that glorious fear.

And he froze.

For a second he thought his enhanced senses were playing tricks on him. He had been deprived for so long of the scent, he must have gone mad.

But he knew it was futile to deny it and to try to deceive oneself. It had never been food, or herbs or anything else; as he sniffed her like the big cat he was, he came to the sudden realization that what had been luring him was the scent of a ripe female… a  _ human  _ female.

His body tensed, his ears flat on his head and all his muscles ready to pounce. He had been foolish, what had attracted him to her was just  the biological need to mate. 

But why her? what had this pathetic specimen that others hadn’t? Khan knew he was no normal tiger, he was just a link between two species. Born as both human and tiger and cursed for all eternity. No female man or tiger would ever take him, as he didn’t belong to either worlds.

A roar built in his throat. This was the ultimate cruelty of man, to pair him with someone who belonged to the kind that had once casted him away so cruelly. He would never go willingly to that temptress and her tantalizing scent.

He snapped out of his rage-fueled mind, when he heard a man call for the female. As much as he would love to break his neck with his strong jaws, he needed time to process the cruel joke he had fallen victim to.

If fate wanted them to mate, then he would make it as horrible for her as he could. She would see what a monster really looked like. With a final glance towards his future ‘mate’ he kicked dirt onto her robes and run off in search of his next meal.

* * *

 

During the next days, he had the pleasure of making her frown, kick and scream in frustration. Furthermore, he had learned a lot about her as well.

But contrary to what people believed, tigers were no fools, and Khan certainly wasn’t. As he toyed with her, he unconsciously knew that everything he did formed part of the mating ritual. He provided her with nutrients, he patrolled her grounds and he was marking his territory to ward off any potential competitors for her affections.

As much as Khan wanted to resist his instincts, he couldn’t push aside that primal section of his brain that urged him to sink his teeth on her neck and claim her for himself. He felt disgusted at the thought.

He, Shere Khan, the monster parents warn their kids about, wives’ worst nightmare and main goal of aspiring hunters; had been paired with a female man. Fate sure was twisted.

In a weak attempt to break his pull towards her, he distanced himself, choosing to take his hunting grounds to somewhere as far from the man village as it was possible.

Still, that didn’t work, in fact it made their bond stronger. A hunting party had surrounded him, and as fiercely as he fought, they managed to wound him pretty badly. His only comfort was that he managed to take three of the men down, those would never be able to see their homes and families again.

Desperate and bleeding, his mind pointed towards what he had discovered of the tiny female man. She studied and worked with animals, and she had shown healing skills when one of the man cubs had injured itself. She may not be the best, but she would have to do for him.

As much as he dreaded the thought, she was the only one who could help him now, unless he wanted to bleed to death. Limping and panting, he made his way towards the man village just as a storm broke. The rain helped clean his body of blood, but the wounds were still open, if he didn’t reach the man village soon, he would probably pass out and die.

Using the darkness of the night to his advantage, he sneaked quietly through the walls that surrounded the village, grunting with effort. He followed the trail of her scent to what he supposed was her den. As always, anything related to men constructions and creations repelled him. They were fragile and easy to get in, had he been in a better shape he would have easily tore through the wooden obstacle.

With all the effort he could managed in his painful state, he stood on his hind legs and threw all his weight onto the wooden structure. Leaving dep claw marks as he slid down.

He heard her stand up and come to grant him access, he ignored her shocked gasp when she pulled the wooden structure aside and saw him, making his way in as best as he could, and accidentally pushing her against the wall with his wide frame.

The last thing he remembered before passing out and phasing, was thinking how her scent was stronger inside.

* * *

 

Now, as he took a closer look at the female lying unconscious in his arms he took notice of how tiny and fragile she was, how easy would it be for him to snap her like a twig with his animal strength, just a little squeeze and everything would be over for her, no witnesses of his original form.

But he couldn’t. 

As much as he tried, there was this small part of him, _ possibly human _ , he scoffed, that just wanted to be buried inside her drowning in her scent and bonding for life. Something that was  _ totally  _ not going to happen. At least for now.

Standing up, Khan carried her towards her human crafted cot. His wounds barely bothered him now, he knew he was a fast healer, so by the time the sun rose and the creatures of the light came out to hunt or be hunted, he would be in full health.

He laid their bodies on the cot, with him on top of her, and admired her sleeping face. He had to admit she wasn’t that bad for a female man. Her skin was soft and pale, like the finest silk; her auburn hair, reminded him of dusk. Her lips, though thin, were pink and asking to be covered in kisses. But what attracted him most was her scent, her spicy and at the same time sweet scent. 

He buried his nose in her neck making a frown at the cloths that hid her body from him. Why were men so keen in wearing such ridiculous garments? Not only were they ugly, they were also unpractical, since those thin cloths did nothing to shield them from the weather or to camouflage them to hide from predators. They were so shiny and bright that Khan wondered if they were trying to copy some kind of peacock.

Without a second thought, he ripped some of the upper part that was covering her neck.  _ So easily breakable _ , he shook his head with disdain. He took a good look at her uncovered shoulder and marvelled at the amount of freckles that marked her skin. For some, they may have looked like imperfections on pristine skin, for him… they made her more interesting. Beautiful dots on a plain white canvas.

He brought his mouth to the part where her neck met her shoulder and pressed his lips there. It felt good, really good, he pondered as a warm feeling stirred in his lower belly. What if he moved his lips a little more to the left?

Khan felt the steady rhythm of her pulse point and a sudden urge to bite and mark almost overtook him. Still, he grabbed a piece of her skin between his teeth and sucked, working gently the sore skin between his canines, sometimes nipping a little bit to please his animal other, and immediately afterwards soothing the abused skin with his tongue.

From the outside, Khan looked peaceful and focused on giving love bites to his “mate”, but inside his mind, there was a fierce battle of wills going on. Both sides of him seemed to have contradicting and opposing views, constantly demanding to leave the female man and run as far as he could from her and at the same time, begging to be buried within her and produce offspring before anyone else could claim her.

As she started to regain consciousness, Khan couldn’t help but wonder how this mere slip of a female could have managed to achieve what nobody, not even himself, could: make him doubt.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one, yas! The following chapters are going to take a little longer because life has run with its car over me. I have a lot to study and tons of projects to finish. Sorry for my mistakes in English. Enjoy the chapter!

Molly was in heaven.  This was just what she needed after that horrible nightmare about bleeding tigers turning into men, a pair of strong arms that held her while a full mouth, worked her neck, nipping and pulling on all her sweet spots and just the way she liked it… whoever her dream man was he definitely knew what he was doing. Until a very hard nip made her let out a small soft gasp, she realised this was no dream.

Immediately she panicked and through narrowed eyes, spied the well muscled figure that was working her neck like one of those romantic heroes from the novels that disgusted her mother so much.

She stilled when she recognised those cheekbones, the harsh reality hitting her in the face like a cold dead fish. What happened before she fainted had been no nightmare; he was real, he was some kind of mythical creature that had passed out in her living room and now was sucking her neck as if there were no tomorrow… and how talented his mouth wa-  _ NO! Focus Molly! Focus!  _ She chided herself.

Under all that fear and pressure mixed with pleasure her sharp mind was at disadvantage, to calm her nerves, she decided to make an analysis of the situation. Maybe thinking logically would give her the focus she so desperately needed.

That hulking wounded tiger she had healed had turned into a man, a very handsome man and very naked man that was probably starting to leave a mark on her neck. People would have branded that scene as utterly immoral and indecent, two unmarried people alone in a room without a chaperone, behaving like the horny commonfolk of Whitechapel, one of them fully naked and judging by the pressure at her stomach, showing obvious signs of sexual excitement. If her mother ever caught a whiff of this, she would take her out of her will for sure.

But could she really blame the man? This obscene and lecherous behavior was proof that this poor gentleman had never came into contact with civilization, if we took into consideration the tiger factor, a factor that she was still having trouble to come to terms with, Molly would adventure to say that he had lived all his life in the wilderness with the other feral creatures as his only companions.

Still, if she wanted to keep her virtue intact she would have to try to keep him in line. It turned out to be nearly impossible, since his arms were like two iron bars and when she pushed at his chest, he even had the audacity to growl at her!

“Please, no. Just stop!” She said with more urgency. Someone could enter, and see them and if someone let the cat out of the bag -heh, how witty she was- her career would be over. She already had the disadvantage of her gender, everyone at the museum was eagerly waiting for her to make a mistake so they could fire her, and if she lost her beloved job… she did not know what she would do.

At least he seemed to notice the desperation in her voice, because he pulled away, leaning back against the wall full stretched and with his erect member in full display throbbing at her. Oh dear God, she wasn’t sure this was any better.

She gulped and cleared her throat, trying to not let her eyes wander towards his well endowed reproductive organ.

“Th-thank you.”

He just looked at her, narrowing his changing eyes. It seemed he was the one studying her and not the other way round. She took a good look at his sculpted chest and froze, where there had been several ugly looking stab wounds, now where pink scars. Her mind was a whirlwind of different hypothesis and theories. Was this a side effect of his abilities? was he a demon? Was he a witch? What else could he do?

“I heal fast.”

Molly jumped at the sound of his voice, it was a deep rich baritone and more than she could have ever imagined. However, she had assumed that he had been raised in the jungle so how could he-

“During my brief stay with man.” He spat the word ‘man’ like it was poison. “I discovered that I could learn their primitive language to use at my advantage.” There was so much barely concealed rage in his voice that Molly felt a shiver ran down her spine. She bit down her lip, ignoring how his eyes darted towards the small gesture and took courage.

“What are you?” She asked with as much bravery as she could muster. She may be shocked, scared and slightly aroused but she was a scientist first, and she would put her scientific mind to good use.

“I am me.”

Okay, that wasn’t very much to work with and very unhelpful, she’d better press the issue further.

“Yes, I can see that, but what are you exactly?”

He just shrugged and Molly felt her frustration start to grow. She had just saved his life after a couple of days of him annoying her, the least he could do was give her some answers, damn it!

As if he had gone through her mind, he spoke again. “My name is Shere Khan. But it seems I am also known in these lands as ‘The Crippled Bastard’.”

Molly felt her face flush with embarrassment. So, he had heard her. Oh God, and the fact that he was fully smirking at her now wasn’t improving the situation.

“I’m so-”

“Don’t.” He interrupted her. “I’ve been called worse. It’s not like you men would ever be able to hurt my feelings.” 

“I’m no man.” She said.

“Pardon me?” He arched an elegant eyebrow in surprise.

“I’m not a man.” Molly repeated. “I am a woman”

“Whatever.” Khan said, waving a hand dismissively. His deformed right hand. No that she took a good look at it, the skin seemed rotten and yellowish, his fingers twisted and his nails long like claws. It was quite a sight. At least, it looked like he had partial mobility, which was good news for him.

“I was born like this.” He commented, looking bored with the subject.

“Do you read minds as well?” She asked astonished, it was the third or fourth time he managed to know exactly what was going through her head. He just looked at her like she was stupid. Which made her blush with embarrassment again.

“I was born as a man cub with certain, how would I call them?, let’s say features. My progenitors considered me to be defective and a punishment for their sins, so they kept me locked in a cage during the first six or seven springs of my life. They fed me their left overs and only cleaned me when my odor was unbearable for them. They treated me like an animal, so I behaved as such.” Khan’s expression never changed while he told her his tragic backstory, for any other, it would seem like he was unaffected by it; but for Molly, she didn’t know how she could know, but she felt like deep inside, his resentment and pain was bigger than anything else.

“They didn’t even give me a name, sometimes they referred to me with one of the words they had learnt from the natives:  _ Lungri _ , The Lame One.” He snorted with laughter, but it didn’t have any humor in it.

“With time, some of the villagers started noticing that something was very wrong inside our house. One night, they sneaked in and discovered me. I don’t remember very much, I just remember there was a fire and I phased for the first time and killed my parents and the intruders. When the other villagers found out, they chased me away with torches and guns. They shot me in the shoulder, I thought I was going to die. But I didn’t. I hid and healed faster than I remembered healing. The last thing I thought was how men were unforgiving disgusting creatures that destroyed everything they could get their greedy hands on.”

Molly felt tears pricking in her eyes, how someone could endure so much pain and keep going on? How they had treated him was abhorrent and made her feel ashamed of her humanity.

“Oh, but there’s more, my dear.” Khan said, like the mind-reader he denied he was. “I can read you like an open book, darling. I’m not a mind-reader.”

Molly crossed her arms and gave him a pointed look. He chuckled.

“Since man had rejected me, I thought I would fit better with those more… of my kind.” He stared at his deformed hands, lost in his thoughts. She wondered how one single man could have so much beauty.

“This… limb is a direct sign of weakness. Without previous training in hunting or any kind of development of my animal instincts. All I got was disdain and condescension, so I proved them wrong. My rage and wrath fueled me so I trained, and hunted, and killed until I became the most dreaded menace of the jungle. No man or animal would ever dare to cross my path, that was until an annoying man cub decided to confront me… but that’s a story for another time I fear.”

Molly was left speechless, that was certainly the most tragic backstory she had ever heard. Yes, it unnerved her he had killed in cold blood his parents and the intruders, even though they kinda deserved it for abusing him so cruelly. Still, who was he to become judge, jury and executioner?

His gaze suddenly darkened and she found herself on her back with him looming over her face menacingly.

“I am the law here, woman.” He said through clenched teeth that had suddenly become sharp fangs. “I kill where I please and who I please. And nobody will stop me, you understand?” His muscles started to shift and grow, skin reddening with fur and stripes starting to make themselves known.

She started to shake, if he had looked menacing as a tiger now that he was somewhere in between he was downright terrifying, like something pulled out from a nightmare. Though, she felt shameful when she couldn’t stop that small twinge of arousal that ran through her body at the thought of what that powerful body could do to her.

Khan nostrils widened, taking a deep breath of her scent. Fear mixed with arousal, the strongest aphrodisiac. Slowly his frown lessened and his smirk widened.

“Oh… how naughty…” He purred in that deep voice of his that now sounded even deeper and was probably going to send her straight to Hell.

Molly froze, she wanted to lose herself in her pleasure, she really did, but that was wrong. They barely knew each other and she was no common wench. Whatever was happening  between them, she had to put a stop to it before they did something they, or at least she, could really regret. And she hadn’t finished her questioning.

“Why are you telling me this?” She inquired curiously.

His mood finally relaxed, and he started to shrink back to his normal size. He didn’t get off her, though.

“Why not?” He shrugged.

“Ok, but why me? What do I have that makes me so special?”

Khan pondered her question for a second, he didn’t want her to know the full truth because maybe she would go willingly with it, if her previous excitement was any indication to go by; or worse, she could flee and he would never find her again. He forced that mindset out of his head, he didn’t want any kind of attachment to her.

“Nothing. But you had seen me phase into my true form, so it’s fair you received some kind of explanation. Consider yourself lucky, woman; hadn’t you saved my life I would have probably gutted you.”

This time Molly felt real fear at the thought of the possibility of having found her death at the fangs and claws of this beast. Khan, on the other hand, found this new scent very unpleasant. Usually, he revelled in the fear he caused on his victims, but not this time. Maybe because for him she was no mere prey.

He didn’t want her terrified of him. If her fear wasn’t mixed with arousal then what was the point?

A knock on her door snapped him into action and he jumped in front of her in a semi-crouching position with his teeth bared and his claws ready to attack.

* * *

“Doctor Hooper? Are you in there?”

Molly froze, that was Hiran, her interpreter. If he came in and saw her and that naked man… Oh God, what if he spread the word about them being together? What if it came to her employers’ attention? They had already very reluctantly agreed to give her this small ‘expedition’ and for what? a couple of birds and a naked tiger-man hybrid?

Khan was only making things worse, he looked like a tiger -no pun intended- ready to pounce. She needed to get him to calm down… and get dressed…

Hearing the knob starting to twist she jumped into action and threw a blanket over Khan’s naked body, startling him and making him snarl at the sudden disappearance of his objective.

Managing to cover her torn dress as best as she could and to get into a decent position, she stilled when she felt Khan’s firm hold at her waist. Sadly for her, it was too late to step away: first, because she was held in an iron grip; and second, because Hiran had already entered the room.

He looked to be in a rush, but stopped when he saw she wasn’t alone. For a second, he attempted to bite his lip to stifle his laughter, but that amusement died down when he saw Khan’s right hand. His face got an unnatural shade of white and he started to sweat profusely. He stilled in fear when he looked at Khan’s eyes.

_ “Bolo aur mar jao _ ”

Molly didn’t know what Khan had said, but she knew something for sure, that it was a promise. A promise of death and suffering, judging by the whimper that came out Hiran’s mouth.

Gulping and shaking like a leaf, he managed to utter some words.

“I-i-i ca-me to s-s-ay that th-the birds you w-w-ere look-*gulp*-ing for are in p-position.”

Hiran didn’t stay long enough to see her nod, as soon as he finished, he was already running outside like the devil was chasing him. Khan let out an amused chuckle, letting the blanket fall off his body, showing all his naked glory. Meanwhile, Molly wasn’t feeling any kind of amusement at all.

“I think you need to leave. Now.” She said. Khan arched one elegant eyebrow.

“Why?”

“Why??” She was utterly mortified. “Because you are an unmarried naked man that is alone with a lady in her chambers! Not to mention that you can turn into a tiger, if anyone ever finds out about this, it would be our doom!”

He chuffed with annoyance. “You men worry over the most ridiculous things. But fine, If that concerns you so much I’ll see myself out from this repugnant village and their nauseating civilization.” He frowned when he saw her sigh in relief, she was in that much of a hurry to get rid of him? Not if he could allow it, if their fate was to mate then he would make sore neither of them got out of it so easily. “Not so fast, my dear. I said I would go, but I have my own conditions.”

Molly gulped, dreading his answer.

“I want you to meet me tomorrow by the waterfall on the east when the sun reaches its zenit. Do not be late, I do not like to wait.”

“I am not going anywhere with if you are going to keep ordering me around.” She said rising her chin in defiance. Had she given her full consent, he would have jumped all over her, for she had never looked more deliciously ravishing to him. Still, her defiance angered him, he was the king of this jungle! nobody dared to oppose him! And she certainly wasn’t going to achieve it.

“Would you rather have me back here?” He snapped back at her. He took great delight in observing how her cheeks burned with frustration. He took her silence as her submission towards his will.

“We will meet again, my dear.”

With surprising agility for someone who had just very recently been stabbed several times, he jumped through the window. Then, and only then she sat back on the bed, wondering how in heaven she had got into this situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think what Khan says roughly translates to "Speak and you'll die" or something like that. Please correct me if I'm wrong.


End file.
